Look Up Clare County Inmate Records

Clare County Jail Roster Overview

No official public Clare County jail roster was located on the Clare County Sheriff's Office page, the county homepage, or the county department navigation. The official sheriff page has jail information, command staff, phone contacts, records-request directions, HomeWAV, and Express Account links. It does not expose a searchable current-inmate database, booking report, released-inmate list, mugshot gallery, or inmate profile page in the material captured for research.

That means the accurate Clare County inmate records process is a fallback chain. Current custody starts with the jail phone line. Formal jail records, booking records, incident reports, older custody history, and mugshot requests move through Michigan FOIA. Filed criminal charges move through MiCOURT, the 80th District Court, the 55th Circuit Court, or the Clerk/Register. State prison records move to MDOC OTIS, while federal and immigration custody use BOP and ICE tools.

How to Use Clare County Inmate Records

The best search method depends on the custody stage. For a same-day arrest, call the sheriff's office first because there is no official public roster to refresh. For a case that has reached court, search MiCOURT or contact the court that set bond or opened the case. For a person sentenced to state prison, use OTIS instead of the county jail.

1. Call the Clare County Sheriff's Office at (989) 539-7166 and ask for the jail or control room.
2. Use control room extension 4238 if direct extension entry is available.
3. Have the person's full name, date of birth or approximate age, arrest date, arresting agency, and possible charge ready.
4. Search MiCOURT Case Search once formal court charges may have been filed.
5. Submit FOIA when a written booking record, older jail record, incident report, or booking photo is needed.
6. Use OTIS, BOP, ICE, or VINELink if the custody issue has moved outside the county jail.

The official Clare County Sheriff's Office page shows the jail contact and records routes that support this fallback process.

The screenshot confirms that Clare County publishes jail and records contact information, but not an official public current-inmate roster.

Clare County Roster Search Fields

A normal roster search-field table cannot be shown for Clare County because no official roster form was located. The useful search fields are the details a caller or requester can provide to the jail, court, or FOIA coordinator. Specific details are especially important when the arrest is recent or the person may be held on an outside warrant.

What Clare County Inmate Profiles Show

The research did not locate an official public Clare County inmate profile screen. Do not assume the county publishes booking numbers, public charge codes, housing units, bond per count, booking photos, or release status online. Those details may exist inside jail and court systems, but the public access path is phone confirmation, court lookup, FOIA, or the correct state or federal locator.

Clare County Jail Records Contact

The jail is operated by the Clare County Sheriff's Office. The official sheriff page names Sheriff John S. Wilson and provides direct jail command contacts. The same page says all records other than accident reports may be requested in writing with a FOIA Request for Public Records Form and emailed to the sheriff records contact.

Request Clare County Booking Records

The Clare County homepage gives the broader FOIA route: completed requests may be emailed to FOIA@clareco.net, faxed to (989) 539-2588, or mailed to the Clare County FOIA Coordinator. The sheriff page gives a sheriff-records email for written requests using the FOIA form. Michigan FOIA response rules include a five-business-day response period and a possible ten-business-day extension under MCL 15.235.

The county homepage screenshot below shows the official government site used for FOIA routing and department navigation.

FOIA is most useful when the question is not just whether someone is currently lodged, but whether a written record, incident report, old booking entry, or booking photo can be released.

Clare County Booking and Intake

No Clare County-specific booking manual was located, but the sheriff's corrections-officer duty language gives useful local detail. Corrections officers supervise inmates in housing units and segregation, issue clothing, bedding, and personal effects, conduct counts, maintain logs, prevent contraband, check mail, monitor video, supervise food service and recreation, and conduct searches of housing and recreation areas.

Michigan MCL 28.243 requires law enforcement to collect and forward biometric data for qualifying arrests within statutory timelines. That supports the record path from arrest to booking, fingerprints, possible booking photo, and later state criminal-history handling. It does not mean the county must post a mugshot online.

Clare County Bond and Release Checks

Clare County-specific bond posting instructions were not found on the sheriff page. The court and clerk sources provide the local structure. The 80th District Court handles many first appearances, misdemeanor matters, and felony preliminary steps, while felony cases can move to the 55th Circuit Court after bindover or waiver. The Clerk/Register page also lists a bondsmen link, court search request forms, payment links, and public vault search timing.

Confirm custody with the jail before paying bond, then confirm the amount and case or warrant number with the court that set it. Ask whether payment is made at court, jail, online, or through a bondsman. Also ask whether another hold blocks release after payment.

Clare County Jail Visits and Calls

The sheriff page names HomeWAV for video visits and calls, but it does not publish a full local visitation schedule, in-person visiting calendar, visit length, dress code, child rule, or attorney visiting policy. Call the jail before traveling or creating a paid visitor account. Vendor tools can change, and local jail approval rules may apply.

Clare County Commissary and Money

The sheriff page says deposits or commissary orders for an incarcerated inmate go through Express Account or by phone at 1-866-422-6833. Express Account describes website deposits, 24/7 phone support, care packages, and in-facility kiosks where supported. The research did not capture a Clare County-specific fee table, spending cap, commissary menu, or kiosk guarantee.

Clare County State and Federal Searches

Use MDOC OTIS after a state prison sentence or for parole and probation status. OTIS covers prisoners, parolees, probationers, and some discharged offenders within the displayed window. It does not include county jail inmates, city lockup inmates, jail-only sentences, or people arrested and convicted but not yet sentenced.

Use the BOP Inmate Locator for federal inmates from 1982 to the present. Search by number or by name and demographic fields. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator for immigration custody by A-number and country of birth, or by biographical data. VINELink can help with custody notifications where records are available.

The MDOC OTIS information page explains why a state corrections search is different from a county jail lookup.

That distinction keeps searches focused: county jail for recent local custody, OTIS for state custody, BOP for federal custody, and ICE for immigration detention.